Enviro: Lynx Sightings Drop Sharply in Mala Fatra Winter Tracking

Bratislava/Zilina, 3 April (TASR) - Winter tracking of large carnivores by volunteers has shown a significant year-on-year decline in the presence of lynx in the Mala Fatra mountains area, Marek Kuchta from the conservation initiative We Are Forest has noted. During a weekend survey in January, volunteers recorded the tracks of only one lynx, along with fresh signs of 22 brown bears and 21 wolves. A total of 140 volunteers took part, covering 57 routes and surveying approximately 70,000 hectares in the buffer zone of the Mala Fatra National Park and the Lucanska Mala Fatra range. "Tracking conditions were excellent thanks to continuous snow cover. The result is a recorded decline in lynx tracks, while long-term monitoring of wolf packs points to significant differences in their population trends. Wolf family groups are shrinking. However, tracks don't necessarily reflect the actual number of animals in the area," said Kuchta. Volunteers recorded signs of 22 bears in the Mala Fatra region. "In three locations, signs of seven bears were found in close proximity to hunting facilities used for supplementary feeding of wildlife. In particular, in the Bystricka valley there are three feeding sites located directly on or very close to hiking trails, increasing the risk of encounters between humans and large carnivores," warned zoologist Tomas Flajs. Flajs previously worked for the Mala Fatra National Park administration, which conducted the monitoring for nine years before volunteers continued the effort this year. "Although a total of 21 wolf tracks were found, there were also locations where wolf packs have completely disappeared. It's worrying that in the entire Lucanska Mala Fatra, along a more than 30-kilometre section of the ridge from Strecno to Klak, not a single wolf was documented, whereas in 2024 two wolf families were confirmed there. Such a situation hasn't occurred in ten years of monitoring," said Flajs. He added that the near absence of lynx is particularly alarming. Tracks of a single lynx were found in the Lucanska Mala Fatra, but the presence of lynx was recorded in three separate locations in the same area in 2024. mf/df